Public Opinion
by jenlovesbones
Summary: What came first...Brennan's love for Booth or Booth's love for Brennan? A scenario that dissects who was aware of their attraction and struggled with their feelings daily and why Hannah had to happen before progress could begin again. Post-Season 6.


**This is a one-shot that I've been trying to write for **_**months**_**. I finally think I nailed one of the objectives I've been trying for in story (I'm giddy with relief and nervous for you to read it), but I can't bring myself to put it in either my Coffee or Angry series, so it gets its own post.**

**Some Bonesy "Facts" I need to share with you, before you read this story, so you get where I'm coming from. (I promise, the story is actually longer than this author's thesis…errr, note.) You may agree with me already. You may disagree with one or all of my points vehemently. I just ask that you allow me to state my case and let the story play out before you make your final verdict. I've spent months trying to rationalize the writers' decision for Hannah. This is where I landed:**

_**1. Booth, not intentionally, lied when he said that he knew, he knew from the very beginning, in the 100th Episode. We all have the ability to alter history in our own head to make it sound like we want it to, a more romanticized version of ourselves. But I believe he spent several years in between that night not in love with Brennan, leading to a more accurate conclusion that he fell in lust with her for a short time during that first case, and other feelings came much later. Mind you, I'm stating here that there's a difference between having feelings, strong or not, and as varied as can be for someone, and being "in love" with someone. I'm firmly of the belief that Booth is in the former category, in the camp that he grew to love her overtime and only came to want it post-coma, and came to really realize it, sadly *cringes…* because of Hannah. *Holds back gag reflex at the 'H' word***_

_**2. When Brennan got into that cab after Booth had fired her, instead of leaving with Booth for drunken sex, she did it because she too believed his words "I think this could be going somewhere." When he asked he why and she said "Tequila," I strongly believe that her response did not mean "Oh my God, you think we're going somewhere, as in a relationship, and I just wanted a one-night-stand so I'm going to hightail it out of here." The first time I watched it, and every time since, I've always interpreted "Tequila" to mean "You can't start something meaningful while drunk, you can't be sure you even have feelings for me while you're drunk" hence, I'm going to leave so we can pick this up when we're sober." I think as much as fans love to profess their love of Brennan, they really don't ever give her enough credit for her amazing heart sometimes. Despite her talk about "biological urges" from an anthropological standpoint, as long as we, the fans, have known her, she's always looked for something more than anthropology in her relationships. Even if she wasn't always cognizant that that is what she was doing.**_

_**3. Gordon-Gordon Wyatt was absolutely speaking of Brennan when he said that one of them struggles with their feelings every day. Plain and simple.**_

_**4. The coma dream was Brennan's dream… it just took place in Booth's head. This falls under a section of the 4:47 Theory I'm known for promoting. Go back and rewatch The End in the Beginning very carefully… the images, the scenery, the faces to the characters may all have been visualized within Booth's scrambled brains. But the very-in-love married couple with the family that rallied around them to protect them when they needed it the most and the story that went with it… that all came from Brennan's words, Brennan's story. Booth visualized it in his head as she read out loud, but Brennan dreamed it up. That WHOLE STORY was a manifestation of BRENNAN'S desires, not Booth's. It's one of my favorite episodes of the series because I really believe *that* is what it revealed. The full-scale emotions of one Temperance Brennan in regards to Seeley Booth.**_

_**5. I think Sweets was absolutely right about Booth's brain scans. He wasn't in love with her before the coma (or at least cognitively aware of his feelings), and his love for her afterwards was coma-induced. I think Brennan left for Guatemala because she felt at fault for his confusion when he woke up. She was feeling guilty and maybe a little embarrassed that he now possessed knowledge of what she was barely brave enough to imagine. I think, in season five, Booth was finally open to the idea of falling for Brennan because he had been able to imagine a life with her, something he hadn't allowed himself to do any other time in the histort of the series. So, I believe he started falling for Brennan while I acknowledge that, yes, they have had moments, many fangirl-swoon-worthy moments before. But he had a line. And he had rules to follow, and he's a soldier and he's very could at staying in place and obeying orders. And he kept any inkling of feelings for Brennan buried deep down because of his infamous line. Occasionally, we saw them leak out, and carefully watched him tuck them back away. But on the steps of the Hoover "that night," he didn't declare he loved her. And he didn't fight for her when she said "no." And I believe the Booth I've always seen on screen would be the guy to do THAT.**_

_**5.5. As for the flip side… The 'real' non-coma Temperance Brennan did not see herself fitting into Booth's desires for a mate, physically, emotionally, socially… she doesn't share his religion, his faith in the universe, his understanding of people or pop culture. She didn't really say "No" to Booth. She said "I'm not enough…" and more directly "I can't change. I don't know how…" to be the person you want to fulfill this role in your life. And from her perspective, there were two things… first, she wants the best for Booth. And someone who can fulfill be those things she isn't, in Brennan's opinion, is what would make him happiest. Second, the thought of losing him, losing them if they were to "give it a try," … in her mind, when he eventually realizes that she's not enough for him… that would be devastating. She was protecting him, putting his happiness before her own that night, while also protecting herself from the pain of losing him. I hate that moment as much as I love it and I really, really love Brennan for it.**_

_**6. HOWEVER… Booth did begin to fall in love with Brennan AT SOME POINT. I think he started falling for her in season five, took her "rejection" that night on the steps as a blow to his ego. And BOOTH ran first, deciding to go to Afghanistan before she had decided anything about Maluku. Insert a rebound relationship which… the only good thing that could possibly come from Hannah was Booth's realization that there's only one person you can love the most. This prompted him to ask a woman who told him she didn't want to get married to marry him. And allowed him to realize he had no desire to fight for her to stay.**_

_**7. Booth's still figuring things out. Now, he's slept with Brennan and she's carrying their child… but I'm convinced he's still figuring things out. That he doesn't get all of what I've just documented above to you yet. That he has no idea how long she's loved him. That is, in my opinion, what's going to make Season 7 so interesting, if those crabby ole' men formerly known as Hart Hanson and Stephen Nathan do it right. Brennan has been "there" for years. She's finally able to define how she feels. She finally gets that it's more important to fight for more with him than protect what she can get. Now… it's time for Booth to catch up and make some realizations and declarations of his own.**_

**Therefore, I conclude the world's longest author's note EVER *facepalm* by giving you this story… which I've had in my head for months… since the 100th really, but other things needed to play out to get to what you're about to read. And like my muse loves to do, she surprised me just last night, and helped me figure out how to get Booth to come to some realizations in a post-Season 6 world… in a fanfic of course, as I still have no real rights to write for **_**BONES**_**. **

**Thanks to JMHaughey for getting me to push the Publish button. :)**

**Public Opinion**

Booth sat at the diner, sipping his coffee as he tried to recount what could have gone wrong this week. He knows her hormones are a force to be reckoned with, but for the last few days, something was… different. Off. She seemed legitimately upset about something and that scared him because she wasn't saying anything. Since getting together, they had both been very open with each other and talked more than ever, if that was even possible. He thought the place they were inright now was good, and they still had a couple of months until the baby was due to pace themselves.

Things were good, dammit and he loved her and she loved him, he was sure. She'd said as much, quite often, to his surprise. Even this morning, when he dropped her off at work, she had told him that she had to work late but that she loved him and then she kissed him goodbye.

However, that was the most she had said to him in nearly three days. So, what was she so obviously upset about… was she panicking about him, the baby? Had he said something wrong, offended her somehow? Had something happened at work that she didn't want to tell him about? Her emotions lately swung at him like a swinging wrecking ball and he was so busy ducking sometimes, maybe he had missed something? But every time he had tried talking to her in the last couple of days, he got monosyllabic answers or she'd find a reason to excuse herself from his presence. He was here at the diner by himself because she wouldn't go to lunch with him and he can't for the life of him remember the last time that had happened.

On the bright side, if she was upset with him, she wasn't running from him. She didn't go back to her apartment to sleep without him or suddenly need to dig up some bones in Outer Mongolia. She was there… physically. But emotionally, she was elsewhere…

Lost in his thoughts, he failed to notice the parade of people headed toward his table until they had arrived. Angela sat down directly across from him, Hodgins next to her. Cam took the seat next to her friend while Sweets pulled up a stool to mediate over the table.

Booth looked at all of them hesitantly before he spoke. "Hey, everyone. Oh, yes, please, feel free to join me," he said, his voice laved in sarcasm.

Angela simply crossed her arms as she stared him down with the kind of intensity she was known for. "What did you do to her?" she asked accusingly.

Booth stared Angela down for a few moments, looking defensive as he held his coffee cup to his lips. Then he glanced to her side and realized the other three were wearing equally accusatory stares. He sighed and put down his cup. "I have no idea," he said, running his hand through his hair.

They all looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "I… I don't know. I mean, sometimes I say stuff and it totally sets her off. You know, with the baby and the hormones…but normally I have _some_ idea as to what I said to cause the problem."

"This isn't just hormones today," Cam piped in. "Or yesterday for that matter. She seems legitimately upset about something but she's barely said a word to any of us. And we're worried enough about her behavior that we came to seek you out."

"You guys just left her by herself…" Booth started, panic growing in his voice. "What if something happens to her, what if she's working too hard without someone forcing her to rest…" he asked, before Cam put her hand on his arm to reassure him.

"She's fine. She's locked herself away in bone storage, she's taking regular breaks and we tasked Wendell to watch after her and keep her fed and hydrated while we came to find you."

Booth settled back in his chair. "And Sweets just happened to be at the lab?"

"Nope. We went to your office first to find you, and we picked him up along the way," Hodgins said.

"When it comes to you two, I really can't help myself," Sweets said with a shrug. "Just tell us what happened, Booth, and maybe we can help you fix it," Sweets said.

"But that's it… I don't know," he sighed exasperatedly. "Things were perfectly fine a few days ago, and then… she's just clammed up. And I'm usually the one who can… un-clam her, but she's barely speaking to me. And the funny thing is, it doesn't even seem like she's mad_ at_ me. When I tried asking her what's wrong, she said she's just tired and went to bed. Or she pulled out her laptop to work on her novel, and she hates to be interrupted, so…" Booth shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "Has she said anything to any of you?" he asked hopefully, looking around the table.

"If she'd had, we wouldn't be here…" Angela reminded him.

"What was the last thing you guys actually talked about?" Sweets asked in his probing manner.

Booth thought back. The last three mornings, she had barely said a word to him. Two nights ago, he had gotten home late, and she was working on her novel and went to bed almost immediately after closing her laptop. Last night, she worked as late as she could manage before returning to the apartment and went to bed almost as soon as she got home. That means three nights ago… but that had been a good night. A _really_ good night. Wasn't it…?

_He is always surprised at just how good it- and he means 'it'- could be between them, even months later. Rolling back to his side of the bed, breathless, he grins when she rolls toward him and curls into his side. He brings his arms up around her and pulls the comforter over them to ward off the chill settling over their flushed skin. _

_She lets out a deep, satisfied sigh, followed by a giggle-a freaking giggle- that always gives him this irrational desire to scream "King of the World" or at least "King of the Bedroom." But he doesn't because it sounds too much like something Hodgins would say. And that kind of thought just doesn't belong in their bedroom. _

_She kisses his chest before she tucks her head in under his chin. He loves her-all the time- but he really loves her like this. And he tells her so. "I really love you when you're like this. So… cuddly," he remarks, earning a chuckle from her._

_She chuckles softly and he can tell she's fading into sleep when she responds to him. "I really love you all the time, Booth." _

_She says it so earnestly, so factually, like she just named all the bones in his hand. Suddenly, he finds it hard to breathe, being subjected to her kind of blatant sincerity. He runs a hand through her hair, unsure of whether she's still awake, but needing to speak anyways. "I knew. Right from the beginning, Bones. I've always been in love with you…"_

_Her breathing pattern remains steady and her movements still, so he allows himself to fall asleep with her. _

Booth recounted an _edited_ version of three nights ago, almost cringing when he narrated their last words to one another because what's theirs should stay… theirs. But he knew now that next morning she was upset and she wasn't upset when they went to sleep, so…. Maybe he needed a little help. It must have been a dream and Angela understands dream theory. And Sweets with his psychobabble…

"So, let me get this straight… you told her that you've loved her right from the _beginning_?" Hodgins repeated, emphasizing the last work.

"Yeah," Booth said sheepishly. "It's true."

Hodgins shook his head and at back in his seat with his "I'm king of the lab" smirk, while the others sighed, nodding to one another in indication that they now understood the problem.

"What?" Booth asked, his frustration seeping into his tone.

"She was awake when you said that thing at the end, about always knowing," Sweets said.

"And you know how Brennan feels about lying…" Cam added.

"What?" Booth exclaimed. "I wasn't lying!"

"Sweetie, listen. I know it _sounds_ romantic to declare that you _knew_ from the very beginning, but you haven't been in love with Brennan all this time. Maybe you thought you guys would make for an interesting couple or an excellent one-night stand at points in time. At first, you thought she was hot and quirky and you could tell she found you charming and symmetrically pleasing. But you weren't in love with her the first time you met her. Your feelings built up and the sexual tension was always cranked to high but… It took you a quite awhile, years, in fact, to really fall in love with Brennan."

"No… it didn't! It did not. It didn't…" he repeated, growing more unsure of himself as he took in the confident expressions on his friends' faces.

Angela pressed on. "Now Brennan, on the other hand, I don't know if you could say she knew she loved you right away… mostly because it took her a long time to become comfortable with the definition of love. However, just because she didn't know how to define it doesn't mean she didn't feel it. And act like she felt it. Brennan fell in love with you long before you ever considered you might be in love with her. She knows that now, and that's why what you said is bothering her."

"You guys have lost your minds. And I thought I was surrounded by geniuses," Booth said disbelievingly, pulling out his wallet in an effort to indicate he was leaving.

"It's true, Booth," Sweets said, and when he hazard a glance at the others, they all nodded in agreement.

"But… I…" Booth stuttered looking at the group. These people all worked with Brennan, some of them far longer than he had worked with them. They couldn't just make vague statements and call them facts without backing them up.

Booth's eyes narrowed as he looked at the group and sat back in his chair. "What's your evidence?"

"How about her very first Kathy Reichs' novel. And the five that have come after it, of course, but it's the timing of the first one that really gives her away. _I_ _knew_ when she started writing that first book years ago. Which, by the way, she started writing about a week after she swore she'd never work with you again," Angela told him.

"Bones always says I'm not Andy Lister," Booth defended half-heartedly, because even he didn't believe that.

"Booth. I love you, but how dense does a guy have to be to not pick up after all this time that she wrote you a best-selling love letter after only spending three days working with you? She was, for lack of a better word, so twitterpatted over you that she created a story about what you guys could have been," Angela said, adding an eye roll in response to Booth's dropped jaw.

"How about the fact that she agreed to work with you even after you had her detained by Homeland Security officers at the airport, and permanently even after you arrested her for shooting that guy?" Hodgins said, Angela nodding in agreement. "Of course she did…because she spent a year writing and publishing a book about how enamored with the guy she was, so how could she really say no to him?" Angela added.

"She said no to me all the time. She refused to work with me for months!" Booth exclaimed.

"No, she had Zack intercept all of your calls and tell you no. That's different. If she had to tell you 'no' face-to-face, she would have caved. Which is exactly what happened after you had her detained at the airport. It's that charm smile you wield… it makes you hard to resist," Angela added, patting her husband's knee after hearing him scoff.

"There was also that time, when she had been kidnapped by the FBI agent… when you burst into that room and shot that guy, the look on her face was… I had known Brennan a long time at that point, and that look was one I had never seen. I was sure of it then," Hodgins added. "And I didn't need to be buried alive with her to know that she may not be a religious person, but she has this unshakable faith in you. She kept repeating, 'Booth will find us.' Do you think there has ever been anyone else in her life she has trusted like she trusts you?"

"On a less serious note, I had suspected it right away, but I knew for sure when, out of nowhere, she mentioned that Booth had started sleeping with Rebecca again. The totally nonchalant way she tried to do it did not mask her jealousy well," Cam said.

"I think the fact that she physically assaulted you after you told her you thought you two could be 'going somewhere,' but then hired her back so you couldn't date her is pretty telling of when her feelings surfaced," Sweets added.

"Wait… Uh… What?" was the cacophony of responses from others around the table as Booth glared at Sweets.

Sweets continued, unfazed. "Booth told Brennan during that first case they solved together that if they worked with each other, he couldn't ask her out, to which Brennan openly expressed disappointment. Then he got her drunk to fire her after she hit that judge, and she pointed out that if she's fired, they could sleep together. He took her up on the offer, but before they got very far, he told her that he thought they 'could be going somewhere,' and Brennan decided that they weren't going to have sex that night due to all of the tequila they'd been drinking. Then, the next morning, he hired her back."

"Whoa…" was the collective sigh from the rest of the group.

"So, she likely assumed, when Booth hired her back that he was just giving her a line to get her into bed. That's why she reacted so strongly to you the next day. You were the kind of guy who would get a woman drunk to get her in to bed. Totally threw off her perception of you and since she's never confident in her ability to read people…" Booth cut him off.

"Isn't there such a thing as doctor-patient confidentiality?" Booth deflected, physically restraining himself from leapfrogging across the table to tackle Sweets.

"Hey… it's all in the final version of my book, which the two of you signed off on months ago. It's already gone to the printer, so they were going to read it anyways. Also, thanks for reading it _so_ thoroughly, Booth," Sweets said sarcastically, as it was obvious Booth hadn't paid that much attention to what he wrote or he would know what Sweets had concluded after hearing about that first case.

"I wasn't _really_ planning to read it, but now…" Cam muttered, loud enough to earn a chuckle from Angela and Hodgins and a wounded baby-duck face from Sweets.

"Before you knew that story about their first case, which, by the way, I'm kind of offended Brennan has never shared with me before, when did you know Brennan loved Booth?" Angela asked Sweets.

"Honestly, I had suspected it for a long time, but when they first started coming to see me, they closed ranks. They held all of their feelings about everything so close to the vest that it was hard to distinguish the 'Did they have real feelings for each other?' and 'When did it happen?' and the how of it all. I was fairly sure about Brennan after… well, after Booth was shot," Sweets said, looking down at his feet to avoid a well-earned group glare.

"But until I was around them more often in a more colleague, less therapist sort of way, I wasn't 100 percent sure, just yet. And then, one day Doctor Wyatt and I were discussing one of the first drafts of my book and he pointed out that while they both have feelings for one another, Brennan's the one who struggles with containing them every day," he concluded.

"Aa… are you kidding me?" Booth asked in surprise. "You guys think she's had feelings for me, all this time."

"No, we think she's always been in love with you all this time. Get it straight, Booth," Hodgins clarified cheekily.

"She's… Bones has dated a string of guys over the years. You're saying she's had serious relationships with people, but has been in love with me the whole time. And on the flip side, you're saying that the same can't be true for me? Haa… even during that year we spent apart after that first case, when she started living with that loser physicist guy she was dating. You're saying she was in love with me then?"

"Sometimes, people over-commit to what's known as a 'rebound relationship,' even going as far as moving in with someone or… more… to prove to his or herself that they are capable of getting over someone and moving on with their life," Sweets told him pointedly.

"coughHannahcough," Hodgins said, hand over his mouth in a pretend attempt to cover what he said, earning a shin kick from his wife and boss. They hid their smirks a little better than Hodgins did though.

While shooting death-glares at the bug man, Booth crossed his arms protectively, putting physical distance between him and the rest of the group. "How would you explain Sully then?" Booth asked defensively.

"I explain Sully by the fact that she _didn't_ sail off with the man, staying behind because she couldn't live- how did Gordon-Gordon put it? - a 'purposeless life,' not solving crimes with her _partner_," Angela countered with a smirk.

"As for any of Brennan's relationships, she took her cues from you… you guys were working together, and you had already told her you couldn't date each other and work together. Sometimes, you end up settling for the second-best situation so you don't end up with nothing," Angela said.

"What I never understood… see, you have these rules, but you also dated Cam, who you worked with… so…?" Hodgins asked, his question trailing off.

"And actually, he broke up with me that last time because he said co-workers shouldn't date each other," Cam recalled.

"That was around the time Booth shot that clown, right? Because he also told Brennan the thing about not dating coworkers around that time as well…" Sweets added. When Booth looked at him, he just shrugged. "What, Brennan tells me things too…"

"And didn't Bren start dating Sully right around the time Booth broke up with you?" Angela asked Cam for confirmation.

Cam nodded to confirm. "Yes, I think there was maybe a week between the time he broke up with me and shot that clown, which is how Brennan ended up meeting Sully in the first place."

"So Brennan and Sully happened in part because Booth reinforced to her that they, Booth and Brennan, could never be a couple," Hodgins summarized.

Cam turned to Sweets. "He didn't shoot that clown _because_ he broke up with me, right?" Sweets shook his head in the negative. "Thought so…" Cam replied. "Is it too much to want a man, any man, just once, to lose his mind over _me,_" she wondered aloud.

Meanwhile, Booth put his head in his hands, covering his ears and closing his eyes, hoping to make them all go away. As they continued to chatter, he finally snapped. "Everyone, stop! Just… be quiet for a minute," he said, returning his head to his hands.

Everyone looked momentarily chagrinned at all they had dropped on the obviously clueless up-until-now-agent's lap. Cam finally spoke up. "You okay Booth?" she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I just… I… when is it, in your collective 'opinions' that you think I fell in love with Bones?" he asked in an annoyed tone laced with a twinge of what Sweets thought sounded like nervousness.

"While I do believe you've always had feelings, of some sort for my best friend, and while I was always a strong advocate of you acting on such feelings, I just don't buy that you were in love with her right away. And I think you spent very little time over the years allowing yourself to consider whatever you were feeling for her at any given time and what that meant for you two. Brennan was always clear… there's a line, a line that can't be crossed. But that was your language, and she just enforced it out of respect. As for love, I was pretty sure you became aware of what was between you two after your coma," Angela said. Cam nodded in agreement.

"I thought so as well, and we even talked about it back then, but you weren't so sure yourself," Cam said.

Hodgins shook his head in disagreement. "Nope. It was Hannah," he said bluntly, without a cough to cover it. "They're right, that you've always had this dreamy-school-boy look thing you've done in Brennan's direction, but until you lost what could have been and chose to not explore it or fight for it, you didn't really know how you felt."

"I'm with Hodgins on this. It was mostly Hannah," Sweets said in agreement. When Sweets shrunk back at Booth's look, remembering he wasn't allowed to ever speak of her again, Hodgins stepped in.

"Listen, Booth, I know you may not like to talk about her, but I think you figured out how you felt about Brennan once you had something, some_one_ serious to compare it to. I mean, let's not kid ourselves… Hannah was quite the catch. She's a successful, headstrong, gorgeous woman, who could handle how dangerous your job is and your odd hours because her job was like that too. You guys got along well and complemented each other in many ways. But I think something clicked for you when you were with her. Something clicked somewhere inside your tumor-free head that said despite being nearly perfect, she wasn't enough and she was never _going to be_ enough for you because she wasn't Brennan."

"That's why you proposed to her. Just a final shot at seeing if you guys had any staying power," Cam added knowingly.

"That's doesn't make any… God, no, that's not why I proposed to her!" Booth exclaimed

"Booth, we're not saying you didn't love Hannah. You did. Maybe you still do, on some level. But I knew the woman didn't want to get married. So did Cam. So did Brennan and anyone who had ever met Hannah before. Bren told me once that it surprised her that you were willing to commit to a woman who wouldn't marry you, because you had always felt so strongly about getting married. Then she said 'Hannah must be 'the one' if you were happy making that sacrifice.' And Hannah told us you knew her feelings on marriage, that she wasn't prepared to settle down anytime soon. But you proposed anyway."

"And, in my experience, if you really loved her, really believed Hannah was the one, you wouldn't have given up on her after one failed proposal. Or given up on Brennan, for that matter… I know I didn't because I couldn't…" Hodgins said, grabbing Angela's hand.

The table grew silent for a few moments, before Cam clapped her hands. "Well, since we solved the mystery of what's been bugging Doctor Brennan, we should all head back to work," she said, standing up.

"I'll talk to her Booth. Not about… 'this' … of course," she said to reassure him, gesturing at the table and group. "But I'll work to get her in a better mood this afternoon, and then maybe you can come up with some way to mend the fences at home tonight. But don't go around lying about when you think you loved her. She knows better and deserves your honesty. And in my most humble opinion, she's loved you a lot longer than you've realized, kept it to herself because you asked her to and deserves some credit for doing so."

"Take a page from my book… I learned early on that you can't lie to a pregnant woman," Hodgins chimed in. "Unless, of course, it's about her growing size or eating habits. Then, you just find all of it beautiful and charming, _no matter what_," he finished, ducking to avoid Angela's swatting hands.

The four of them walked out of the diner, leaving Booth to absorb all he had just learned. "Guys, what do you think about scheduling regular group therapy sessions," Sweets could be heard saying as their voices trailed off. "I think that was a really positive experience for everyone, and since we work in such high-stress jobs…"

The last distinctive sound that could be made out was someone slapping the back of Sweets' head, with an accompanying "Ow!" muttered.

**I've written this conversation a dozen times between Brennan and Booth, but I could never justify getting Brennan to cop to all of these things aloud to Booth and do so while in character. It's no secret that as a writer, I relate to Brennan more than Booth, and in fanfic it seems that writers more often canonize Booth while demonizing Brennan. Booth, like Brennan, has faults, chinks in his standard-issue FBI armor. It is okay to explore them, highlight them even. I can't help but want to try and change people's opinions on that front.**

**I'd love love love to hear your thoughts. :)**

_Add'l note: I've gotten lots of great feedback on this piece over several weeks. I've also had some verbally hostile messages sent my way. To the verbally hostile: Serious, it's fanfiction, and no one forced you to read this. Take a big step back into sanity and remember that before you blow up my inbox with hateful spite. Sincerely, me._


End file.
